The Beatrix stamp series (1981–2010) by Peter Struycken and Gerard Unger
The abdication of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on 30 April 2013 brought an end to the long-running Dutch postage stamp series designed by Peter Struycken and Gerard Unger.
When Beatrix began her reign in 1980, four artists and graphic designers were invited to enter a proposal for a new stamp series. In the end, the unconventional design by artist Peter Struycken was selected from the competition entries.
A portrait made of dots
Struycken digitized a photographic portrait of Beatrix made by Vincent Mentzel and translated it into a large number of dots, arranged in an irregular pattern. This abstracting “digital pointillism” was not only ahead of its time, it also offered the advantage that it rendered the queen’s face more ageless, so that the stamp design could be used over a longer period. And indeed the image didn’t have to be adapted in thirty years. “It is the first representation of the brand Beatrix … Instantly recognizable and unique. Her iconic hairstyle that evokes associations of the Dutch lion’s mane is just one of the components that are typical of her portrait.” — Piet Gerards Ontwerpers
The typography was provided by Gerard Unger, who then already had designed the digital typefaces Demos (1975) and Praxis (1976) for Hell. While the type style – sans-serif letters to go with the modernist design – was determined by Peter Struycken, it was Unger’s task to find solutions to fit them to the photogravure grid: “I had to proportion the letters and take care of the kerning – also taking into account the inner spaces of each letter – and position the word over the total width of the stamp. This sounds like a circus act. The numerals were a problem of their own, as they were complicated in shape and full of curves. On the fine grid, this was already a problem, but when the coarser grid replaced it, the circus act became even more complicated." — source: K. Kaldenbach
Unger drew a ligated pair for ‘LA’, in order to prevent a gap in ‘NEDERLAND’. The lowercase ‘ct’ is also tightly spaced. The ‘G’ (for gulden – guilder) is considerably shorter than the numerals, so that the important information stands out.
See sketches and the other competition entries on Iconen van de post or in this pdf by PostNL (in Dutch).
From guilder to euro to no currency at all
The Beatrix series spans four phases. The first one, issued between 1981 and 1990, had black dots and white type on a monochromatic field. After sixteen denominations and colors, it was time for a design change. For the second run (1991–2000), Struycken inverted the design and specified dots and type in one color on white. The irregularities in the perforation of the 7,50G and 10G stamps are not defects, but a special security feature.
When the euro was introduced in 2002, another adjustment was due. There is one transitional value, issued on 2 July 2001, which has both the guilder and the euro denomination. Note that the abbreviation for the phased out Dutch currency here is ‘ƒ’ (florijn), and not ‘G’ or ‘ct’ as on the previous issues. This was probably done to harmonize the position of the currency signs: In the Netherlands, both the ‘ƒ’ and the ‘€’ precede the amount, while ‘G’ and ‘ct’ are placed after it. The glyphs are noticably condensed. There is still some space left to the top, but type of regular width would have towered over the queen’s head and made the design look crammed.
The nineteen euro values issued between 2002 and 2009 are two-colored: one color for the dots, one for the type, still against a white background. The denomination now is always given in the main unit, in order to avoid confusion of the eurocent with the previously used Dutch cent – at the price of lots of leading zeros and commas. The euro sign has the same height as the figures.
The last innovation came in July 2010, when the Dutch mail company established non-denominated postage stamps, also known as non-value indicator stamps in the UK, or forever stamps in the US. The fixed monetary values are replaced with numbered classes: ‘1’ is for standard domestic letters and postcards, ‘2’ for heavy-weight letters. After fifty-two issues, thirty-six of them on white, the color combinations seemed exhausted. Therefore, TNT Post switched to metallic ink (the reproduction doesn't do justice to the original) for the fourth phase. Not only have the stand-alone figures been adjusted in size and orientation, they are also very different in design.
Goodbye to a design icon
While the third and fourth sets remain valid, there will be no more new additions. Willem Alexander is the new king now, the Beatrix series is completed. Whether you’re a royalist or not, it’s time to say goodbye to an iconic piece of Dutch graphic design.
——
Notes:
1,10G: Someone took a bite out of the queen’s hairdo! A few dots are missing on the right side here. See also several other issues of the euro phase.
€0,55: The position of the € in relation to ‘NEDERLAND’ is different here, see also €0,70.
On a chessboard, two of the sixty-four fields are occupied by queens. In this philatelic chessboard, it’s the other way round: only two fields are not occupied by queens.
The Beatrix stamp series (1981–2010) by Peter Struycken and Gerard Unger
The abdication of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on 30 April 2013 brought an end to the long-running Dutch postage stamp series designed by Peter Struycken and Gerard Unger.
When Beatrix began her reign in 1980, four artists and graphic designers were invited to enter a proposal for a new stamp series. In the end, the unconventional design by artist Peter Struycken was selected from the competition entries.
A portrait made of dots
Struycken digitized a photographic portrait of Beatrix made by Vincent Mentzel and translated it into a large number of dots, arranged in an irregular pattern. This abstracting “digital pointillism” was not only ahead of its time, it also offered the advantage that it rendered the queen’s face more ageless, so that the stamp design could be used over a longer period. And indeed the image didn’t have to be adapted in thirty years. “It is the first representation of the brand Beatrix … Instantly recognizable and unique. Her iconic hairstyle that evokes associations of the Dutch lion’s mane is just one of the components that are typical of her portrait.” — Piet Gerards Ontwerpers
The typography was provided by Gerard Unger, who then already had designed the digital typefaces Demos (1975) and Praxis (1976) for Hell. While the type style – sans-serif letters to go with the modernist design – was determined by Peter Struycken, it was Unger’s task to find solutions to fit them to the photogravure grid: “I had to proportion the letters and take care of the kerning – also taking into account the inner spaces of each letter – and position the word over the total width of the stamp. This sounds like a circus act. The numerals were a problem of their own, as they were complicated in shape and full of curves. On the fine grid, this was already a problem, but when the coarser grid replaced it, the circus act became even more complicated." — source: K. Kaldenbach
Unger drew a ligated pair for ‘LA’, in order to prevent a gap in ‘NEDERLAND’. The lowercase ‘ct’ is also tightly spaced. The ‘G’ (for gulden – guilder) is considerably shorter than the numerals, so that the important information stands out.
See sketches and the other competition entries on Iconen van de post or in this pdf by PostNL (in Dutch).
From guilder to euro to no currency at all
The Beatrix series spans four phases. The first one, issued between 1981 and 1990, had black dots and white type on a monochromatic field. After sixteen denominations and colors, it was time for a design change. For the second run (1991–2000), Struycken inverted the design and specified dots and type in one color on white. The irregularities in the perforation of the 7,50G and 10G stamps are not defects, but a special security feature.
When the euro was introduced in 2002, another adjustment was due. There is one transitional value, issued on 2 July 2001, which has both the guilder and the euro denomination. Note that the abbreviation for the phased out Dutch currency here is ‘ƒ’ (florijn), and not ‘G’ or ‘ct’ as on the previous issues. This was probably done to harmonize the position of the currency signs: In the Netherlands, both the ‘ƒ’ and the ‘€’ precede the amount, while ‘G’ and ‘ct’ are placed after it. The glyphs are noticably condensed. There is still some space left to the top, but type of regular width would have towered over the queen’s head and made the design look crammed.
The nineteen euro values issued between 2002 and 2009 are two-colored: one color for the dots, one for the type, still against a white background. The denomination now is always given in the main unit, in order to avoid confusion of the eurocent with the previously used Dutch cent – at the price of lots of leading zeros and commas. The euro sign has the same height as the figures.
The last innovation came in July 2010, when the Dutch mail company established non-denominated postage stamps, also known as non-value indicator stamps in the UK, or forever stamps in the US. The fixed monetary values are replaced with numbered classes: ‘1’ is for standard domestic letters and postcards, ‘2’ for heavy-weight letters. After fifty-two issues, thirty-six of them on white, the color combinations seemed exhausted. Therefore, TNT Post switched to metallic ink (the reproduction doesn't do justice to the original) for the fourth phase. Not only have the stand-alone figures been adjusted in size and orientation, they are also very different in design.
Goodbye to a design icon
While the third and fourth sets remain valid, there will be no more new additions. Willem Alexander is the new king now, the Beatrix series is completed. Whether you’re a royalist or not, it’s time to say goodbye to an iconic piece of Dutch graphic design.
——
Notes:
1,10G: Someone took a bite out of the queen’s hairdo! A few dots are missing on the right side here. See also several other issues of the euro phase.
€0,55: The position of the € in relation to ‘NEDERLAND’ is different here, see also €0,70.
On a chessboard, two of the sixty-four fields are occupied by queens. In this philatelic chessboard, it’s the other way round: only two fields are not occupied by queens.